ABC 2012 Midseason Premiere: The River

Set to hit the schedule sometime next year on ABC is The River, a suspenseful drama series about an explorer who goes missing and the attempt made by his wife, son and others to track him down. The twist is that the whole thing is being filmed documentary style.

I’m not certain from the description whether nor not this drama is a full-on mocumentary with the whole story told from the perspective of the documentary cameras or if it’ll jump between documentary-style footage and a more standard looking drama. Either way, this one sounds like it could be interesting but we have a while to wait before it we get to see it.

Below is ABC’s synopsis for the series and further down are a few clips from the premiere episode:

The River follows the story of wildlife expert and TV personality Emmet Cole. Emmet set course around the world with his wife, Tess, and son, Lincoln, while filming what would become one of the most popular shows in television. After he goes missing deep in the Amazon, his family, friends and crew set out on a mysterious and deadly journey to find him.Famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) went looking for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon and never returned. The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. To the millions of kids who grew up watching his nature show, Dr. Cole was a hero. To his own son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), he was more of an enigma. Now, six months after he vanished, Lincoln is finally ready to bury the past when Dr. Cole's emergency beacon suddenly goes off. At the urging of his mother, Tess (Leslie Hope), Lincoln reluctantly joins her on a search for his father. To fund the rescue, they agree to let Dr. Cole's cagey ex-producer, Clark (Paul Blackthorne), film the mission documentary-style. The mixed crew of old friends and new acquaintances includes the sexy and resourceful Lena (Eloise Mumford), loyal mechanic Emilio (Daniel Zacapa) and lethal bodyguard Captain Kurt Brynildson (Thomas Kretschmann).The River stars Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) as Emmet Cole, Joe Anderson (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2) as Lincoln Cole, Paul Blackthorne (Lipstick Jungle) as Clark, Paulina Gaitan as Jahel, Leslie Hope (24) as Tess Cole, Eloise Mumford (Lone Star) as Lena, Shaun Parkes (The Mummy Returns) as Adjay, Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) as Captain Kurt Brynildson and Daniel Zacapa (Resurrection Blvd.) as Emilio.The River, from Amblin's Steven Spielberg, Daryl Frank and Justin Falvey, showrunner/executive producer Michael Green (Heroes, Kings), is also executive-produced by Oren Peli (creator of Paranormal Activity), Zack Estrin, Jason Blum and Steven Schneider. Teleplay by Michael R. Perry and Michael Green, story by Oren Peli & Michael R. Perry and Michael Green. The pilot is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and produced by ABC Studios.

The River will air on ABC during Midseason 2012.

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Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.